


And so it goes

by Shiisiln



Category: Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness, Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-09
Updated: 2014-10-09
Packaged: 2018-02-20 13:42:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2430905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiisiln/pseuds/Shiisiln
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He first met Chelsea when she came to visit his daughter, Sabrina.</p><p>(A sweet romance through the seasons)</p>
            </blockquote>





	And so it goes

He first met Chelsea when she came to visit his daughter, Sabrina. He was happy that his daughter was making friends in town, but he was surprised (and rather annoyed) to have one of them barging into his study in the middle of the afternoon.

He looked up from his paperwork to see her standing in front of his desk, looking around in bewilderment and admiration. Shock and suspicion made him snap, warning her not to touch any of the priceless artifacts in the room.

But then she asked about his collection of antiques and curiosities, and he was more than happy to give a speech about it. Their conversation was awkward yet pleasant. She was amused by his loud voice and flamboyance; he was impressed by her knowledge of pottery.

She left when Sabrina came downstairs, and threw a cheerful “See you around!” at him over her shoulder as she walked out of the room. He blinked once, shook his head and went back to his paperwork.

The next time she came was dreadfully early in the morning. She explained between yawns that Sabrina and her were going to visit early-bird Denny and go fishing. He admired her dedication, and appreciated how she didn’t laugh at his tartan dressing gown- although he noticed her mouth twitching at the corners as she looked at him.

From then on, she always stopped by his study when she came to see his daughter. Sometimes she stopped to chat, other times she only popped in to say hello. He appreciated that she bothered to let him know she was there, and where she was going with his daughter. Sabrina was old enough to look after herself, of course, but it was in a father's nature to worry.

Their talks got more in depth each time. She slowly became comfortable enough to tease him, and he bore her jokes with grudging good humour.

One time, they were talking about their favorite flavours of tea, and she abashedly admitted that she didn't have a tea-set of her own. He threw a well-mannered fit and gave her an expensive set of his on the spot. She’d tried to refuse the gift, saying she wouldn’t know what to do with something so fancy, but he wouldn't hear of it. So, she took it home in a wheelbarrow from his garden shed.

In return, she gave him a stack of worn books she’d brought from her old home; her childhood favorites. He read them all, and greatly enjoyed “The Hobbit” and “Watership Down”, although he confessed that “The Last Unicorn” rather bewildered him. He kept saying he’d return them soon, but somehow never got around to it, and she didn’t press the point.

On another occasion, she came over only to realize that Sabrina was out. She apologized for the inconvenience, but in the end they got talking and she stayed for almost three hours. She finally had to rush home, hurriedly explaining that her animals would get upset if they missed their supper. Before she left, she turned to offer him a smile and a wave goodbye, and he couldn't help but notice what a striking figure she cut as she exited the room.

The seasons turned, and festivals came and went. At the Snow Celebration, she teased and wheedled at him until he finally agreed to build a snowman with her. She used a turnip for its nose, and he draped his good cloak around its shoulders. Then she threw a snowball at him, and he retaliated in kind, and soon the entire festival had erupted into an all-out snow-war.

In the spring, she had to drag him away from poor Chen, who had given her potato second place in the crop contest. He fumed over the inherent injustice, ranting (quietly, as she had implored him not to shout and embarrass them both any more) that her crop was obviously superior to the dubious specimen from Mineral Town that had won first place.

She rolled her eyes at his dramatics, but was secretly pleased at his defense- although how much of that was purely his well-known rivalry with Mineral Town, she couldn't say.

In the summer, she accompanied him and Sabrina to the Fireworks Festival. Originally the three of them were going to sit together, but as he spread blankets out for them on the grass, Sabrina got to chatting with Vaughn. After a minute, blushing furiously and tripping over her words, she explained that Vaughn had invited her to sit with him, and she hated to leave them, but could she possibly...?

He waved her off, telling her to enjoy the show. He smiled as he watched the two walk off together, but felt a bitter touch of sadness in his heart. Of course he wanted to see Sabrina grow up and have a life of her own, but how was he supposed to bear letting her go?

He was interrupted as Chelsea tugged on his sleeve and told him to sit down before the fireworks started. Her excitement was contagious, and he soon forgot his earlier melancholy as she exclaimed over the magnificent light show in the sky above them.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she slowly scooted closer and closer to him, until she was right next to him, almost resting her head on his shoulder. He couldn’t tell if she was doing it consciously or not, because she was staring up at the fireworks with starry eyes the whole time.

Sabrina rejoined them when the festival was over and it was time to leave, and he sat between his two companions on the boat ride home. Chelsea eventually fell asleep, and this time she did rest her head on his shoulder, her breath softly stirring his hair.

In the fall, he barely managed to tell her that the mushroom she was about to add to the stew at the Harvest Festival was poisonous before she dropped it in. She laughed, a little hysterically, and remarked that it wouldn’t endear her to the community to give them all three-day stomach aches.

When they sat down to eat the delicious stew together, she asked him about Sabrina’s mother. His mouthful of stew went down cold, and he stayed silent, unwilling to tell her and illogically angry that she’d asked.

She turned away, blushing and apologizing, and looked so embarrassed that he sighed and, not wanting to damage their growing friendship, told her the whole sordid affair.

She didn’t judge him, or look at him with pity. She just patted his shoulder gently and said, “Well, Sabrina is a fine young woman; you’ve raised her well.”

He could agree with that. To break the tension, he put a leaf in her hair. She stole his hat in retaliation, and refused to return it until the end of the festival.

Autumn turned to winter, and one day, she failed to come by when she usually did, and that wouldn’t have been such a strange thing but she didn’t come the next day either.

On the third day she failed to arrive, he finally decided to visit her and find out what was wrong. Sabrina urged him to stay home, however, and he grudgingly agreed, suspicious about his daughter’s cagey answers whenever he broached the subject.

Early the next morning, he answered a knock at his door and was shocked to see her standing on his doorstep, when she usually just walked uninvited into his study. She had dark circles under her eyes and her hands were clasped behind her like she was hiding something. She had also forgotten her jacket, and was starting to shiver from the chilly air.

She babbled about nothing for a while, shifting nervously from foot to foot, but before he could ask what was wrong, she suddenly shoved a parcel into his hands. “Happy Winter Harmony Day,” she said, blushing.

He unwrapped the parcel to find a wooden box containing six chocolates- homemade, from the look of them.

He tried them, while she watched anxiously. “I’ve never made chocolates before. It took me days to get the recipe right so they didn't turn out looking awful... Are they good?

He hated almonds. But there would be time to tell her that later.

He said they were excellent, and she looked very pleased. Then he leaned forward and kissed her gently on the mouth, and she looked even more pleased, blushing brightly and grinning up at him, her eyes sparkling.

Then he berated her for not wearing her jacket, took off his cloak and wrapped it around her shivering frame, and brought her inside. He left to prepare tea, and came back to find her fast asleep at his desk, her head pillowed on her arms. He tidied her hair, tucked his cloak more securely around her shoulders, then sat back and watched over her with a thoughtful smile.

**Author's Note:**

> So hey, my first fic on AO3! It's telling that I start off with a lesser-known fandom and a virtually nonexistant ship (I think I've read a total of... ONE fanfic about these two. Although to be fair I haven't looked too hard.)
> 
> I scrawled the original version of this in a notebook while on vacation last year, when I was obsessed with playing Sunshine Island. It kinda started off as a joke, “haha wouldn't it be funny if Regis was a romanceable character?” and then it sort of ...took on a life of it's own. ^_^' It's mostly inspired off the fact that I was frustrated you can't build a snowman with Regis during the winter festival. 
> 
> I lost the friggin game cartridge a few months ago. So you can blame any mischaracterization on the fact that my knowledge of the characters is based on an incomplete playthrough of a single game from the franchise.
> 
> Like what you read? I'm going to be cross posting fanfiction (and maybe some original stuff) on my art blog, Shiisiln.tumblr.com, so check that out if you like. Or you can follow my personal tumblr at Ima-Little-Fangirl.tumblr.com (Or Ima-Little-Spook if it's October when you read this).
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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